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Family Networks: a new DNA-driven matching system and family tree reconstruction method

Post date:

15th March 2018

On the 28 February, Living DNA announced Family Networks — a new DNA-driven matching system and family tree reconstruction method based solely on users’ DNA, gender, and age.

Unlike competing organizations, Family Networks will provide the most precise matching service on the market by analysing a user's unique motherline and fatherline DNA data (mtDNA and YDNA), on top of the family ancestry line (autosomal).

Living DNA’s matching tool will take the guesswork out of relationships by predicting relationships with more specificity than any other competitor. With input as minimal as DNA and birthdate, Living DNA can build a family tree that shows where matches fit in.

The unique computation this feature provides gives customers, even those who upload from other DNA testing sites, a level of relationship prediction and specificity beyond anything currently on the market.

Where other offerings rely solely on time-consuming and often error-prone user research, Living DNA’s tools process users’ DNA to identify relatives and define relationships deeper back in time.

“With Family Networks, Living DNA not only predict how users are related to direct matches, but can also infer through DNA up to 13 generations back to connect matches with whom they share no DNA with today,” said Living DNA co-founder and Managing Director David Nicholson.

Users need to only provide their gender and birthdate for Living DNA to build a family tree that shows where their matches fit into their family tree, with no need of Gedcom files or any other user input.

This can be especially useful for adoptees and family searchers who are trying to locate long-lost family members but who don’t have any information on their biological family, Living DNA can translate their matches into a potential family tree, giving them a clearer place to start from.

How to get involved?

The matching system will go into private beta in Q2 and open beta in Q3 2018 where it will be available to all existing and new users. To gain early access to Family Networks matching system, click on the link below and you will be able to pop in your name and email address to let us know that you would like to explore the system prior to August 2018 when it will be available to all.